TWRA says bear sightings common this time of year

“Leave them alone.”That’s what Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife officer Jason Lankford says about black bears currently on the move throughout the region.

Beverly Majors/Staff

“Leave them alone.”

That’s what Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife officer Jason Lankford says about black bears currently on the move throughout the region.

Residents in the Woodland neighborhood of Oak Ridge spotted a black bear Monday morning as it was traveling through town.

“This is common,” said Lankford, adding that TWRA officials get a “couple of calls a week” about bear sightings. In fact, a recent sighting in Andersonville sent a resident running in one direction and the bear running the other, Lankford said.

“That bear hung around for a couple of weeks,” he said. Though that’s not normal behavior.

Generally, the young male black bears are “just moving through.”

The area in Andersonville has more wooded area than city neighborhoods, Lankford said, and this is the time of year berries are in season. “They find food in a thicket and often lay up and eat,” Lankford explained. And, often, that’s what puts the bears in someone’s yard.

The bears eat dog and cat food, seeds from birdfeeders, and they like the grease trap on grills. “Remove the food source,” the TWRA officer suggested.

Young black bears are on the move trying to establish a home range, Lankford said. They come from the Smoky Mountain National Park as well as from the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

“They come both ways,” Lankford said. “We have the Perfect Storm (being in the middle).”

Lankford said Big South Fork has the largest population growth. Adult males will often kill young males and, because the females are in “season,” they are attracting the adult males — so the young males are retreating.

As far as other wild animals in the area, Lankford said residents will see them, too. In the local area, residents can encounter not just the occasional bear, but also the occasional wolf, coyote, fox, raccoon, and others.

“People are going to see animals,” he said. “Coyotes stay, but bears move through. The bears are scared. Just leave them alone and they usually go on through.

“If you see the bear more than once in the same spot, that’s when you call TWRA,” he said. Phone the East Tennessee Office at 1-800-332-0900.